Trouble light construction



Dec. 19, 1950 A. MILLER 2,534,875

TROUBLE LIGHT CONSTRUCTION Filed Dec. 29, 1945 3,4 "iii (94.5

ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 19, 1950 UN I TED S TATES TENT OFFICE The present invention relates to electrical appliances, and has particular reference to a novel construction for a trouble light.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a trouble light of simple and-sturdy construction.

Another object of the invention is to provide a trouble light having an auxiliary plug-in socket positioned below the hand grip.

Still another object is to provide a trouble light having all operating parts encased and concealed.

With the above and other objects and advantageous features in View, the invention consists of a novel arrangement of parts more fully disclosed in the detailed description following, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, and more specifically defined in the claims appended thereto.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the novel trouble light construction;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view thereof in partial vertical section;

Fig. 3 is a sectional detail on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, the outer rubber layer being omitted for clearness;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of a contact blank; and

Fig. 7 is a view of the contact after folding and shaping of the blank.

It has been found desirable to provide a trouble light which has all the operating parts encased, and which has an auxiliary plug positioned at the lower end thereof below the hand grip. To this end, I provide a rubber casing to house the switch mechanism and the wiring connections, and I provide a detachable rubber end plug, the parts being so arranged that assembly is facilitated and the operating parts are completely encased.

Referring to the drawings, the trouble light In includes a hollow type casing II of insulating material, preferably rubber, which has its forward end l2 internally threaded as indicated at I3 to receive the correspondingly threaded light socket end of a snap switch M, the ends [5, [6 of the contact pin of the snap switch being housed in an enlarged recess I! of the casing in inner juxtaposition to two press bosses or lands l8, IS on the outer surface of the resilient walls of the recess l1.

Two contact screws 20, 2| are provided in the snap switch M, as shown in Fig. 3, and lead wires 22, 23 are connected thereto, the wires being covered to form a cord 24, see Fig. 2, positioned in a longitudinal central bore in the casing. The forward end of the cord is positioned in a recess 26 and is locked in place by a split clamp 2-! having two sections 28, 2'9 secured together by screws 30, 3|, and the ends 32, 33 of the-clamp sections extending laterally as illustrated in Fig. 4, to seat against the annular shoulder 34 formed between the bore 25 and the recess IT. The rear end 35 of the casing H is provided with an end flange 36 and the central portion 3'! of the casing is shaped to provide a hand grip.

A plug-in socket 323, which is preferably formed of resilient rubber, has a central recess 39, an enlarged recess ll] forming an annular abutment shoulder ll for engaging the base of the casing flange 36, and an annular rim 42 which is adapted to extend over the casing end flange 36 to lock the socket to the casing. Two transverse slots 43, 44 are provided in the socket body, see Fig.5, for receiving contact elements 45, 46 which are connected in parallel relation with the snap switch 14 by means of wires 41, 4-8 secured to the contact screws 26, 2|. The socket is preferably hexagonal in shape, and has a central opening 49 in the rear portion through which the cord 24 extends.

The contact elements 41, 48 are similar and of simple construction. Thus, the contact element 41, see Fig. '7, is formed from a struck-out metal blank 49, see Fig. 6, having an upper plate 50 and a lower plate 5| joined by a central connecting neck 52, the blank having two openings 53, 54 which become aligned when the plates 50 and 5! are folded in closely adjacent position as shown in Fig. 5, to form passageways for the wires 41, 48, the ends of the wires being preferably soldered to the contact elements. The ends 55, 5B of the plates 50, 5! are preferably bent as illustrated to facilitate receiving of inserted contact plug blades.

The trouble light construction is thus simple, and the parts are readily manufactured and assembled. The trouble light may be used without the end plug-in socket, if desired, but the end plug-in socket is of extremely handy formation for plugging in different electrical devices, and does not interfere with the normal use of the trouble light.

While I have described a specific constructional embodiment of my invention, it is obvious that the invention is not restricted to the specific embodiment, but may be changed to meet different requirements for trouble lights without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A trouble light construction comprising a casing of insulating material having a cavity at one end for receiving a light socket and a central cord passageway, said cavity having a light socket, said casing having an end flange at the other end, a plug-in socket having a central cavity and two transverse slots communicating with the central cavity, contact elements seated in said transverse slots, said plug-in socket having a recess in which the end flange of said casing seats, and a resilient rim extending over the end flange to retain the end flange in the plug-in socket recess, wiringconnecting said light socket and said contact elements in parallel, and a cord extending through said cord passageway and said plug-in socket and connected to said wiring.

2. A trouble light constructicn comprising a casing of insulating material havinga cavity at one end for receivinga light socket and a central cord passageway, said cavity having a light socket, said casing having an end flange at the other end, a plug-in socket having a central cavity and two transverse slots communicating with the central cavity, contact elements seated in said transverse slots, said plug-in socket having a recess in which the end flange of said casing seats, and a resilient rim extending over the end flange to retain the end flange in the plug-in socket recess, wiring connecting said light socket and said contact elements in parallel, a cord extending through said cord passageway and said plug-in socket and connected to said wiring, and means for locking the cord against withdrawal from the casing.

3. A trouble light construction comprising a casing of insulating material having a cavity at one end for receiving a light socket and a central cord passageway, said cavity having a light socket, said casing having an end flange at the other end, a plug-in socket having a central cavity and two transverse slots communicating with the central cavity, contact elements seated in said transverse slots, said plug-in socket having a recess in which the end flange of said casing seats, and a resilient rim extending over the end flange to retain the end flange in the plug-in socket recess, wiring connecting said light socket and said contact elements in parallel, a cord extending through said cord passageway and said plug-in socket and connected to said wiring, and means for locking the cord against withdrawal from the casing, comprising a shoulder in said passageway and a clamp secured to said cord and contacting said shoulder.

4. In a trouble light, a casing of insulating material having a cavity at one end, said cavity having resilient walls, a light socket of the transverse snap pin switch type mounted in said cavity, said casing having a longitudinal bore, the forward portion of said bore adjacent the cavity having a recess of longer diameter than the bore and of smaller diameter than the cavity, whereby an abutment shoulder is provided between the cavity and the recess for the light socket, and a second shoulder is provided between the recess and the bore, a cord extending through the bore and having its wires attached to the light socket, and a clamp engaging the cord and seated in said recess to engage said second shoulder for preventing withdrawal of the cord through the bore.

ALEXANDER MILLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

